In the News (Sat 17 Feb 18)

Multan was sparsely populated by various Elamo-Dravidian and Indo-Iranian tribes for centuries following the decline of the nearby Harappa and Mohenjo Daro of Indus Valley Civilization to the east.

Multan was first visited by the Muslimarms during the reign of the Khalifa Abu Bekr, in 44 Hijri (664 CE), when Mohalib, the Arab General, afterwards an eminent commander in Persia and Arabia, penetrated to the ancient capital of the Maili.

From Multan he rose to be the Sultan of Delhi - Multan remained under the Tughlaqs until it was conquered by Amir Taimur in 1 397 CE During this long period the prosperity of Multan grew unabated.

Multan is famous for the puppet shows a typical string puppet show depicting a legend from the numerous Sufi stories.

tours.hypermart.net /pakistan/multan.htm (823 words)

Pakvisit(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-14)

Multan, one of the most ancient cities of Pakistan has the distinctian of possessing an almost uninterrupted history of religio-political activities spread over a period of not less than five thousand years.

On the distintegration of Mughal rule, Multan became a province of Afghanistan.

The last king of Sadozai dynasty was Nawab Muzzafar Khan, who died in action culminating in the capture and sack of Multan by Ranjit Singh in 1818.

Multan figured as the capital of an important province of the kingdom of Sindh in the writings of the early Arab geographers.

Multancity has the distinction of being the birthplace of three distinguished man in historyMuhammad Tughlaq is said to have been born in 13th century in a hamlet and the place, which is known as “ Kotla Toleh Khan “.

Baba Farid Shakar Ganj was born in a village of Multan, and settled in Pakpattan.

Westerners are such rare visitors to Multan that the few England fans out on the streets yesterday were being stopped and asked to sign bits of paper by locals yesterday.

The Holiday Inn, the only international hotel in town, has been block-booked for the two cricket teams and the television crews, so fans were having to take their chances with the cheap hotels and guesthouses.

Multan is full of the madrassa religious schools that attracted such a bad press in the UK after the bombing attacks in London on 7 July.

Multancity witnessed large scale arson by crowds who were protesting against the cartoons of Prophet Mohammad that were printed in Denmark newspapers and reprinted in many other European countries.

A top official of the intelligence bureau said that as of now there is no threat to the Indian team and hence the remaining two matches to be played in Multan on Thursday and last one in Karachi to be played on February 18 could go on as scheduled.

If the situation deteriorates further tomorrow in Multan then there is a possibility of match being called off because we would not like to take undue risk with our players," the officer said.

MULTAN, Oct 7: At least 39 people were killed and over 70 injured when a powerful car bomb exploded near a place where a gathering was held to commemorate the first death anniversary of Maulana Azam Tariq in the early hours of Thursday.

Some news reports put the death toll at 41 and the number of injured at over 100.

Talking to journalists, Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi said that the Multan incident might be the reaction to the last week's blast at a Sialkot imambargah that claimed 31 lives.

MULTAN: More than 8,000 lawyers of Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan on Friday boycotted their professional duties as a protest against the separation of Pakpattan and Lodhran districts from the Lahore High Court (LHC) Multan Bench.

The lawyers convention condemned senators and members of the national and provincial assemblies from Southern Punjab and their ignorance of the exclusion of Pakpattan from Multan Bench while it is still a part of Multan division administratively.

It said the detachment of Pakpattan district from the jurisdiction of Multan bench be immediately withdrawn and attachment of the Sahiwal anti-corruption establishment to Lahore and Lodhran with Bahawalpur circle be withdrawn because it was repugnant to the regions, circles and zones already notified by the government.

After being bowled out for 214, Multan had reduced the Whites to 89 for six in an inspired display in the late afternoon.

Earlier, a career-best four for 54 by left-arm leg-spinner Arif Mahmood saw Multan lose a clatter of wickets in the middle-order.

In the end, it was a magnificent victory for the Whites after they had conceded an 86-run first innings lead to Multan, who had suffered a 10-wicket defeat against Karachi Blues at the same venue last week.

It has passed through many vicissitudes of fortune in its long and chequered history but has always been acknowledged as a place of great culture and civilization and has grown from strength to strength to occupy, as it does today, a very distinguished and honorable position among the cities of Pakistan.

Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has conceded that the declaration in the Multan Test against Pakistan with Sachin Tendulkar on 194 was a "mistake".

The Indian captain, who did not play in the Multan Test because of an injury, also made it clear that the declaration issue was a closed chapter and said as far as he was concerned it was a "non-issue".

After crossing a river that is called Hydraotes by the historian Arrian of Nicomedia but must have been the Acesines, the Macedonian army approached a large city, which is probably identical to modern Multan, a city now know for its graveyards, heat and dust.

Later, the temple complex became the fort of Multan, and was surrounded by a wall.

During the attack of the city of the Mallians, Alexander was almost mortally wounded.

Multan, July 7, 2006 - U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and Muhammad Arif Malik, Project Director Better World Foundation after signing a $198,891 grant agreement that aims to teach English to 300 students from government schools in Multan over a two-year period under the ACCESS English Micro-scholarship Program.

Multan – The U.S. Embassy and Multan-based NGO Better World Foundation today signed a $198,891 grant agreement that aims to teach English to 300 students from government schools in Multan over a two-year period under the ACCESS English Micro-scholarship Program.

He said, "The extraordinary success of the ACCESS English pilot project in Lahore has encouraged us to expand this program to Multan, where it will reach around 300 high school students, giving them the English language skills so necessary to compete for college admissions and later on in the job market.